West metro: Spanish-immersion day care chain facing immigration probe

Federal immigration officials performing an audit of a west metro Spanish-immersion day care chain believe dozens of the company's employees lack proper employment documents, school officials said at a parent meeting Monday.

Some 60 employees of Jardin Magico, with two locations in Minneapolis and one in Edina, were flagged by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as having improper or incomplete "I-9" documents, school officials said at the meeting, according to a parent who attended.

"I-9" forms examine an employee's right to work and reference documents such as Social Security, green cards and passports.

Jardin Magico employs some 160 employees, school officials said at the meeting.

School officials could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

Jardin Magico officials noted in letters to parents that some of the employees chose to quit rather than submit additional documentation to ICE that would support their right to work.

ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer declined to go into specifics about the audit, noting that it was still in progress. He did note that one employee -- a man who had been previously deported and was in the country illegally -- was arrested outside the school and will undergo deportation hearings. He also noted that the audit was being done by mail and that no ICE employees entered the day care centers.

In a letter to parents Sunday, Jardin Magico said "our hiring practices have been, and will remain, in full compliance with all laws, with our licensing requirements and consistent with best practices in our industry.

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The school was preparing to expand to two additional locations, in Eden Prairie and Maple Grove.

School officials said during the Monday meeting that the opening of the new centers would be delayed, but they did not provide a timeline.